From rock to art photography and emotion for Bryan Adams the step is short. Without any exaggeration. “Because I have always taken pictures – says the musician, photographer of edition number 48 of Pirelli Calendar 2022 in the lobby of the Hotel La Scalinatella in Capri where she immortalized the electrifying images of Saweetie in a silver sequin minidress – and thank goodness. I’ve always documented my tours and concerts and I’m glad I did. This photographic ‘journal’ of the over thirty-year career as a musician has helped me not to forget half of the things that have happened in my life. And when you get to my age, because I was born in Canada in 1959, you need to remember the past. There is nothing more powerful than photography: just look at the old record covers. I was eight years old – he continues – when I saw Janis Joplin’s colorful face on an LP, I had never seen a woman like that. And there is no more iconic image of David Bowie with the lightning bolt on his forehead. “
Mister Adams, how did you choose the protagonists of this The Cal 2022?
“It was not an easy process. We had to shoot last year then Covid arrived and the Calendar also stopped. I had set the choice of all musicians as protagonists, then Fortunately Pirelli decided to keep this format again this year. and expand participation to men. Then a The Cal completely dedicated to musicians: there are Cher, Grimes, Jennifer Hudson, Normani, Rita Ora, Bohan Phoenix, Iggy Pop, Saweetie, St. Vincent, Kali Uchis “.
Where did you take the photos?
“Mainly in Los Angeles, during two days of work in June, and then here in Capri with the shot of Saweetie. In LA it was easy to find the protagonists on site because many live there”. What is the title of this Pirelli 2022 Calendar? “It’s called ‘On the Road’ and that means telling how musicians live in the world. And how I lived. Today, when they can play less in public, this title is an invitation to take up again. In this way the artists tell how and where they live”.
Then there is the musical inspiration.
“Yes, I also wrote a song called ‘On the Road’. You’ll hear it soon.”
Why a shot in Capri?
“It all came naturally. We had to go to the set in Paris because Saweetie had to be there, but then he told me he was here in Capri and I said: it’s perfect!”.
Do you know the island well?
“I’ve been there four times already. I also know other places in Italy well, I judge places by food. That’s why I love Naples and Rome. If the food is good in a city, I love to go back. In Rome, for example, I discovered delicious pizzas “.
Better than the Neapolitan ones?
“Yes, definitely better”.
You had Luciano Pavarotti as a friend and sang with him …
“For me Luciano was a brother. And he also convinced me to sing in Neapolitan and for a Canadian like me it was not easy. Indeed, that was really madness. I was singing with him ‘O’ sole mio ‘.. . During a ‘Pavarotti & Friends’ my father who loved opera and Pavarotti also came to hear me. They met in Modena and hugged and my father told him that he had bought his first album, Donizzetti’s “.
The Cal has become a myth for female nude photos. Has she made any?
“No, no nudity. It’s not done anymore, it’s out of time, nudity is an outdated thing. We have to move on. You can take wonderful photos even without nudity. But some of my photos from Pirelli 2022 I admit are a bit provocative”.
Who is the ideal woman for Bryan Adams and Pirelli today?
“He is a person emotionally connected to what you are doing. It is not a superficial thing, it is a moment of art”.
In The Cal he also called Cher. Because?
“She is an elegant and strong woman”.
In Los Angeles he shot at the Hotel Chateau Marmont …
“It’s a very rock & roll hotel”.
What is beauty for her?
“This is a very difficult question. I can tell you what a beautiful photograph is. It is something you remember.”
Did you use photoshop?
“Just a little”.
After photography, music?
“Soon, maybe next March, my work will come out with 12 new songs. The 15th studio album and the 26th in all.”
Is inclusion also among the topics covered in Pirelli 2022?
“Yes, and diversity is 100% enhanced. Like musical inclusiveness, from rap to rock and from rock to rap.”
When you have the character in front of the lens, what do you think?
“I want to capture the moment. Iggy Pop, for example, appeared in front of me as if it were a fire. When you shoot sometimes it’s funny, some people stay frozen, others come alive.”
Years ago you photographed Queen Elizabeth II. Would you like to repeat that experience?
“Now she has another jubilee ahead, the diamond one. It is not that I would like to photograph her again: you only have 5 minutes to be with her and it is not you who ask to take a shot but you are called. The Queen is old and I do a lot of tenderness: he is only a year older than my mother “.
Have you met Princess Diana?
“No one will ever be able to match her, no one will ever be like her. Yes, I’d put her in the next The Cal (jokes Bryan who shoots barefoot in Capri) and then I think that one of her daughters-in-law, Megan, could accept an invitation from me for a Pirelli, while Kate does not, her status would not allow it. “
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